Sundae Mischief
by Shimmerleaf
Summary: Celebrating Christmas in a cramped inn definitely wasn't Vaughn's idea of the ideal Christmas, but perhaps Sabrina can get him to relax and enjoy the night. Secret Santa gift!


A/N: Merry Christmas _Iridescent Swan_! This oneshot is your present from me, and I do hope that you'll enjoy it, or at least not hate it. I went through a couple ideas before settling on this one, and while the entire thing seems a bit random, I do hope you'll like it. I've tried incorporating everything on your wishlist, but well, I'm not the best at humour...

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"_Goddess can you hear me? I have been so good this year; all I want is one thing: tell me my true love is near."_

Vaughn flinched at the off-keyness of the singing but kept his opinions to himself, not daring to open his mouth. As much as the singing bothered him, he much rather be annoyed by it than have Angela chop him up with her axe. The brunette farmer, being related to him, had quite a short temper and even the tiniest thing could set her off. Even if he did comment on her singing, he doubted she would stop. It was Christmas; her favourite holiday out of all the holidays in the year, and clearly nothing could bring down her happy mood; the weather outside surely couldn't, which had turned from a nice dusting of snow into an endless pitter pattering of rain. None of the Waffle Island inhabitants seemed bothered by it, if the smiles they wore on their faces were anything to go by.

Everyone had gathered together at the Sundae Inn to celebrate Christmas, where a party was being hosted by Jake. The owner of Sundae Inn, surprisingly, was nowhere to be seen, while Hamilton, Waffle Island's mayor seemed to be hogging the spotlight. Every hour, he would grab the microphone from whoever was using it to announce something, not that anyone paid special attention to him.

"_Can't be alone under the mistletoe, he's all I want with a big red bow!"_ Angela continued to sing, her eyes sparkling as she spun around. _"Goddess can you hear me? I have been so good this year. All I want is one thing: tell me my true love is near. He's all I want, just for me, underneath my Christmas tree. I'll be waiting here, Goddess, that's my only wish this year."_

The song came to an abrupt stop, but Angela didn't seem fazed by it as Hamilton plucked the microphone out of her hands. She merely laughed and gave Luke a peck on the cheek, which led to the young carpenter grinning widely.

"Merry Christmas everyone," Hamilton's voice echoed around the room, thanks to the speakers that were placed haphazardly around the room. "Thanks to Jake, we were all able to gather here on this joyous day, so thank you. The time that everyone has been looking forward to has finally arrived. We will now move onto handing out gifts. Please remember to thank the sender afterwards." The air filled with a high pitched static filled noise before the microphone was turned off and chatter replaced it.

The mayor gently made his way across the room and sat himself down at a vacant table, and his son, Gill, took his place at the front of the room, at the bottom of the stairs. Right next to the counter was a rather large Christmas tree, bulging with ornaments, threatening to topple over at any given moment. Beneath it was a mountain of presents, each in different coloured boxes, ranging from small ones to large ones, and circular ones to rectangular ones.

xxx

"Is there anything in particular you're expecting to receive?" Sabrina asked, adjusting her glasses so that they rested on the bridge of her nose. She was slightly out of breath, having just finished dancing with Bo, and was glad to have a chance to simply sit next to Vaughn. Her hand reached for his, and their fingers brushed against each other, leading to a faint blush rising onto her cheeks.

"No," he replied shortly, but allowed himself to relax with her by his side. She rested against him, letting his body hold most of her weight as they sat quietly together.

"I'd love a copy of Mary's new book," Sabrina murmured softly to him, her free hand wandering to the hem of her dress, fiddling with a loose thread. "I just hope that the others will like the presents I got them."

Vaughn nodded in agreement but kept silent, not having much to say. Social gatherings weren't something that he was fond of, and he was only here because Sabrina had insisited he go with her, and he wasn't about to let his wife go alone. There was nothing unsafe about Waffle Island, and it wasn't like he didn't trust the residents, but if anything happened to Sabrina while she was on vacation with him, Regis wouldn't hesitate to kill him when he returned. Gill was already passing out presents, with Elli's help, and he kept his eyes focused on two people in particular: Maya, and Gill himself.

Sabrina followed his eyes and smiled to herself, resting her head on his shoulders. "Don't worry, Vaughn."

He didn't say anything and only kept staring, which led to Sabrina letting out a soft laugh. He wasn't anxious per se, but he was a bit nervous. It all came down to this, and he was hoping he hadn't failed. Two weeks ago, when he first step foot on Waffle Island that year, Luna and Chase had both hunted him down, wanting his, and Sabrina's help. After accidentally getting involved with a fight between Toby and Renee, the entire island had suddenly thought of him as _the_ matchmaker, being able to set problems right between lovers. Sabrina was the one that urged Vaughn to help Toby out, as their fight had been somewhat his fault. It was lucky for the silver haired male that both Toby and Renee were laid back people and didn't take matters too personal, which led to the problem being fixed up quite quickly. Luna and Chase, along with the rest of the villagers, had heard about what he did for Toby and Renee, and had sought out his help with their own relationships.

It was mostly Sabrina that did most of the helping. Vaughn merely voiced his opinions when they asked for it, but otherwise, he simply sat there and held his tongue. Luna and he weren't the best of friends, and given other circumstances, the two of them would most likely be arguing instead. Luna hadn't been fond of getting help from him but with Sabrina there, she had opened up a bit, and had even seemed to have formed a friendship with his wife. Chase had no differing opinions on either of them, and was simply glad to have their help.

"Angela, this is yours," Gill called out, and Vaughn's cousin eagerly made her way over to the Mayor's son, taking the package from his hands before returning to Luke's side.

"Open it," Luke suggested with a mischievous glint in his amber eyes. Angela did so and soon the wrapping paper was off, revealing a plain white box. The lid came undone and taped to the bottom of the box as a simple piece of paper.

"_A new four-legged companion is waiting for you at home,"_ the note said, and Angela jumped at her husband, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, her way of thanking him.

"Toby," Gill called out, and the fisherman picked up his gift. Unlike Angela, he unravelled the wrapping slowly, revealing a cylindrical container. Tipping it over, small fish shape cookies spilled onto his palm, each resembling a different type of fish.

"Thanks Maya," Toby stated politely before returning to his seat. The blonde waitress looked quite pleased that he was happy with his gift, while Chase stood next to her, shaking his head. Vaughn couldn't help but smirk at the exchange. Granted, Toby was most likely being polite, as Maya's cooking was extremely gag worthy.

The names came and went and the piles of presents dwindled down. In Vaughn's hands was a medium sized box, covered in Christmas wrapping paper, held together by silver ribbon. Sabrina nudged him and smiled, gesturing to the box. "Why don't you open it?"

He shrugged and did as such. The ribbon came off, as did the wrapping, and the lid of the box followed. Sitting in the box was a hat, but not just any hat. It was a Stetson hat, much like the one he always wore, much like the one that people knew him by, much like the one he lost two seasons ago amidst a typhoon. Vaughn could only stare at the hat in response, not knowing what to say. It wouldn't have been easy to get one of them, and they were quite pricy. Vaughn only had one because his parents had given it to him when he was young. His hat was like a keepsake of his parents, but it was more than that. His hat allowed him to mask his emotions, to keep him distant when he didn't want to share with other people; life simply hadn't felt the same after he had lost his hat.

"Do you like it?" Sabrina murmured to him, her hand still holding his. A note was lying on top of the hat and Vaughn stared at it, blinking repeatedly until the words became a blur.

"_Because you look happier with your hat on."_

"I-I, yes, I do. Thank you, Sabrina," he replied, stuttering slightly as the words left his mouth. She smiled gently at him and reached into the box, picking up the hat and placing it atop his head. It was a perfect fit, as if the hat was made especially for him. With the hat on him, a sense of calmness settled over him and he found it easier to relax. While the inn was crowded beyond belief, it didn't seem as unwelcoming as it had before, and Vaughn found himself smiling at Sabrina. "Thanks."

He was tempted to ask her where she had managed to find one, but decided against it. There was no point to it, and the look on her face was all that he needed to see. She was beaming at him, looking as happy as on their wedding day. Her cheeks were slightly flushed but her eyes danced in the dimly lit room, a smile stretched across her face.

"Wow Vaughn, thanks!" Hamilton's voice interrupted Vaughn's thoughts and he turned to look in the direction of the mayor, who was standing next to Gill, clutching a box to his chest. "I definitely needed a sweater."

Hamilton sounded genuinely happy about this gift and Vaughn could only stare in disbelief. It had been quite easy deciding what to get for everyone on the island except for Hamilton, and Vaughn had left it until the last minute, in which he had dashed to the Tailor Shop and bought the first thing he had seen, which was the sweater Hamilton was gushing about. It was bright red, much like the colour of Luna's winter coat, with flowers embroidered on the sleeves and 'Merry Christmas' stitched across the front in big letters. Looking at it for the first time, Vaughn was appalled to see that Hamilton _liked_ it; while he hadn't been trying to get the mayor a horrible gift, he had simply picked up the first thing he saw, which happened to be that. It looked more feminine than masculine, and seemed like something Maya or Luna would wear. Vaughn hadn't even bothered wrapping it, and had simply thrown it into a bag, sticking a bow on it.

He looked away, feeling slightly disturbed by the sight of the mayor gushing over his new sweater to Gill. The blonde stared in Vaughn's direction and the silver haired male couldn't help but smirk a little. As ridiculous as the sweater was, Hamilton was happy with it, which, according to Sabrina, was all that mattered, even though Gill might end up hating him from then on.

"Maya," Gill continued on, almost yelling into the microphone, over Hamilton comments on his present. The blonde waitress looked up from the cake she was eating and eagerly walked over to Gill, picking up her present. It was a small box, only slightly bigger than a ring box, wrapped with snowmen wrapping paper and tied together with shimmering yellow ribbon. She shook it gently, holding it next to her ear but heard nothing and returned to her seat next to Chase.

Gill had already called another name but Vaughn's eyes remained on the waitress, as did Sabrina's. They had helped Chase find a Blue Feather, which was of course, no feat in the dead of winter. Everything else was up to him.

The wrapping came undone in much the same way as how Angela unwrapped her present, and bits of the paper and ribbon were left scattered on the floor, revealing a pale pink box. The lid came off soon after and the waitress inhaled sharply, looking up from the box to look at Chase, who simply nodded. "Yes, yes, yes!" Maya exclaimed loudly, shrill enough that it captured everyone's attention, and they all turned to look. None one could see the contents of the box, but that was easily remedied as Chase took out the present and got down onto one knee, holding Maya's hand in one of his, and the present in the other hand.

"All I can do is cook, would you still love me, Maya?" Chase asked, though the question was quite pointless at that point as she had already answered him. That didn't stop the blonde from reply energetically though.

"Yes, of course I would, Chase!"

"Heh, I'm glad you feel the same way. I love you, Maya," he concluded, slipping the Blue Feather ring onto her ring finger before standing up, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Everyone that had been watching started applauding the couple, cheering for them, which led to Maya blushing and Chase looking away awkwardly.

"One down, one more to go," Vaughn commented to Sabrina once the applause had died down and everyone had returned to whatever they were doing beforehand. Angela had started singing again, while Owen had managed to convince Luke and Calvin to play rock paper scissors with him, wherein the loser had to drink.

She looked up at him, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "How do you think it'll end up?"

Vaughn shrugged and tipped his hat backwards- oh how he had missed doing that- looking over at Luna, who was in the midst of an argument with Julius while Candace sat in-between them, and at Gill, who was continuing handing out the presents beneath the Christmas tree. There were only a few more boxes left, and one of them had to be for Gill, from Luna. "Should be soon."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a flash of light sparked outside, like a bolt of lightning, and the entire inn was bathed in darkness. For the first time that night, there was complete and utter silence. It didn't last long, and soon people began talking, though it sounded mostly like panic.

"Everyone, please calm down! The lights will be on soon, please calm down!" Hamilton proclaimed, but without the microphone, his voice was easily drowned out. Vaughn could only make out his words because the mayor was standing right next to him.

"Everyone! Quiet!" Owen shouted, his voice resonating throughout the room, effectively quieting everyone. "Jake said the lights'll be on soon; got a backup generator in here." His words were slightly slurring together, a result of too many drinks that night, but were still clear, and the villagers seemed to calm down at that.

"You alright?" Vaughn asked, ignoring the noise around him as he turned in Sabrina's direction. Against the darkness, he could still make out her shape.

"I'm fine," she replied calmly, gripping his hand tighter to assure him that she was still there. Neither of them were particularly afraid of the dark, but being able to touch each other felt more reassuring that they were there together.

Sabrina rested her head on his shoulder, letting her hair fall against his neck. They stayed that way for a while, bathed in the darkness, which was only broken by the occasional flashes of light. "This is some Christmas party, isn't it?" she stated, her voice laced with amusement. "Something such as this would never happen back at home."

"Chelsea could pull something like this off, with Denny's help. Elliot will freak out, and Regis will get angry," Vaughn replied with a smirk.

"I think I'd like to host a Christmas party at home next year," she mused. "Something like this, with all our friends and family."

"Heh, that would be entertaining."

She smiled at his reply and released a soft content sigh. Around them, people were still talking, with Owen yelling over the noise as Jake was upstairs, trying to find the generator to turn on the lights. Flashes of lightning illuminated the scenery outside in random splashes, adding light darkness that surrounded them all. There was something calming about not being able to see, though it was different than when Sabrina didn't have her glasses on. Her vision was clear, but there was nothing to be seen, everything was hiding. The only solid evidence there was that someone besides her was there was Vaughn's shoulder beneath her head, and his hand in hers. The two of them rarely had moments like this to themselves and Sabrina could feel her arms tingling, her cheeks heating up. It was a nice feeling, a sensation she wanted to continue feeling.

Something buzzed in the background and within a second, the lights came back on, flooding the room with radiance. Many people shielded their eyes for a moment, adjusting to the room before carrying on with their conversation from before, as if nothing had happened. The rain outside continued to pound against the roof of Sundae Inn, and lightning flashed outside, thunder roaring above, but nothing seemed to be able to distract the villagers from their merry mood.

Two presents were all that remained underneath the Christmas tree and Gill picked up the one wrapped in lavender wrapping paper. "Sabrina," he read aloud, much to the raven haired female's surprise.

Vaughn shrugged his shoulder, leading to her head moving and she got up, quickly crossing the room. She took the present from Gill's hands and hurried back to her seat next to Vaughn. She hadn't expected a present in return and this truly was a surprise. While Hamilton had given up playing the role of Santa that year, no one had taken the reins from him, and exchanging gifts hadn't been included into the party, but everyone had shown up with an armful of presents.

"Open it."

She picked through the ribbon, unravelling it slowly and then peeled the wrapping paper away, unlike Angela who had simply ripped it apart. Underneath the wrapping was a hardcover book, a field of flowers swaying in the wind on the cover. 'Irises' was printed in the middle, and Mary's name beneath it. Vaughn reached a hand over, opening the book to the first page, revealing the dedications.

"_For my friend Sabrina, and husband Gray, providing me with countless inspirations and ideas. Have hope and courage, and seek what you admire."_

Sabrina blinked a few times and looked up to see Vaughn looking at her with a half smile. "Thank you," she murmured softly, running a hand over the soft cover of the book.

"You've always wanted that book," Vaughn replied, but reached a hand around her shoulder, drawing her nearer to him. "Iris, heh, how fitting."

She had always admired him from a distance, and it was perhaps chance that they had interacted with one another in the first place. He seemed like a gruff person, one that didn't hesitate to tell someone off if they bothered them, yet she had somehow gathered her courage to speak to him, even going as far as becoming his friend.

He didn't understand her intentions at first; hardly anyone on the island had bothered trying to get to know him, yet she dared, and she succeeded. The more he got to know her, the more he felt himself being drawn to her, and after some inspiration and help from his friends, he had proposed. Iris, a simple flower, but it summed up their relationship quite nicely.

"Luna, what is this?" Vaughn and Sabrina had been busy with their thoughts that they hadn't noticed that Gill had picked up the last present, which, surprisingly, was his. Upon opening it, he had found out that it was from Luna, hence the question.

Gill looked at the box in his hands and then at Luna. For once, she was quiet, not saying anything in response. Her eyes were downcast and her hands were behind her back. He didn't say anything more and simply waited. Many of the people that had noticed the exchange were silently watching, while the others that weren't paying attention continued on with their own conversations.

With a sigh, Luna stepped closer to him, pulling out the present from the box, revealing a grey sweater. She held it up to him, so that the front faced Gill and she bit her lip. "Well?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm not joking, if that's what you're asking."

Gill's lips twitched and he shook his head, letting out a laugh, taking the sweater from Luna's hands. "Yes, I will. Is that a suitable answer?"

"What was the question?" Luke shouted across the room. It was doubtful that he had been paying attention in the first place, but Angela was next to him, a devious glint shining in her eyes.

"I didn't ask him a question. It was a statement," Luna shot back.

"Well, what was it?"

"'Marry me'."

That easily caught the attention of everyone else that hadn't already been paying attention and everyone present at Sundae Inn stared at the mayor's son and the pink haired tailor. It wasn't unusual for a female to propose, but without a Blue Feather…!

Sabrina started applauding them and Vaughn followed suit, and everyone else eventually joined in, though some people looked as if they were unsure if it was legitimate or not. Luna, being somewhat observant, noticed the questioning gazes they wore and took the sweater from Gill's hands, waving it in the air. "There, happy now?"

Underneath the statement was clearly a Blue Feather, sewn into the sweater, in bright blue yarn. Clearly Luna had the last laugh.

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A/N: Well Iris, I hoped you like this little oneshot from me, and that it at least made you feel happy. I haven't written HM fanfiction in perhaps a year, so this is definitely not my best work, but I hope it isn't trash either. If any of the characters are OOC then I apologize! It's been a few years since I last touched ToT or AP If you aren't satisfied with this, I'll be more than willing to take another shot at this and write you something else!

To everyone else, I'd love to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Happy Leafing~


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